


Black Lonely Nights

by F-117 Nighthawk (F117_Nighthawk)



Series: Pepperony Week 2K17 [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, F/M, I Tried, Iron Man 1, Pepper hates him being gone, Pepperony Week, Pre-Relationship, during IM1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 14:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11465934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F117_Nighthawk/pseuds/F-117%20Nighthawk
Summary: Short snippets of Pepper during those long three months that Tony spent in Afghanistan.for Pepperony week day two: pre-relationship





	Black Lonely Nights

**Author's Note:**

> this one is almost directly referenced by tomorrow's wow. I think I've managed to accidentally connect all of these except the post-CACW one.  
> Also Rhodey snuck his way into this. The second section was supposed to be from Pepper's POV but Rhodey decided that he was back home for shore leave.

“Miss Potts, there is an urgent call for you.”

Pepper started when JARVIS suddenly started talking through the house’s speakers. Pepper always took the few times Tony wasn’t in his house to clean it. She never touched the workshop, despite having a code to get in. The organized chaos of the workshop was nothing she was capable of understanding; even if she did have some desire to clean it up, Dum-E and U would beep threateningly at her if she tried. The workshop was Tony’s inner sanctum, she had no right to mess with it.

Normally when Tony was off on some business trip with the military JARVIS stayed silent. He would unlock the door for her, give a greeting, and be silent the entire time she was in the house. When Tony was away the AI was even more direct than he normally was in the Stark Industries compounds. So when the AI suddenly started talking to her, it startled her. 

“Put it through, JARVIS.”

One wall blinked up caller recognition. It was Rhodey, calling from a military base.

“Pepper, please tell me you haven’t looked at the news today.”

“What? No, I didn’t have time before I had to leave the house. Should I-”

“No. Don’t. Not yet. I’d rather you hear it from me and not the media.”

Pepper paused in dusting the shelf nearest to her. “What? Rhodey, what’s going on. Did something happen?”

Rhodey took an audible deep breath. “The convoy got attacked. Tony’s missing, presumed dead.”

Time stopped.

Blink.

Breathe.

Breathe.

_ Breathe, Pepper. _

“What,” she managed to gasp out, “What. What happened? Are they searching for him? Do you need access to JARVIS? He has a tracker right? His body armor should’ve protected him. He was surrounded by the military, he should be fine, right? Rhodey?”

“I-I don’t know, Pepper. I was in the humvee in the front. Hit an IED, rolled over and knocked us all unconscious. I’m one of the few that isn’t dead or missing. Whoever they were, they were gunning for Tony.”

Shakily, Pepper leaned against the wall and headed for the nearest chair. “Oh god.”

“We found his phone. It seemed like he was trying to call someone for help, probably JARVIS. No sign of him though.”

“Find him, Rhodey. Please.”

“I will, Pepper. I will try until we find him.”

Rhodey disconnected the call and Pepper instantly broke down in tears. She let them flow for once. She hadn’t cried since her parents’ deaths. It was a weakness in the business world. You didn’t show that you cared enough to cry. The vultures were always circling, whether they be other companies or the paparazzi. Yet here she was, crying over the fact that her boss was missing, presumed dead.

After a couple minutes she managed to calm herself down. As a way of distracting from the sudden rush of emotion, she asked JARVIS: “J, he was wearing the vest with the tracking chip, right?”

“Correct. Unfortunately, I have not established contact with the tracking chip since Sir attempted to call me.” 

“Is there anything we can do to help?”

“No, Miss Potts. I have exhausted my current capabilities.” The AI sounded almost mournful.

* * *

 

The weeks passed in a blur. Every morning, Pepper would drive over to Tony’s house, and inquire JARVIS and Rhodey about any changes. Nothing ever changed. After two months, the military gave up. There was no way he had survived in the desert, they said, and if he had been captured by the Ten Rings, the local terrorist group, then there was nothing they could do. The Ten Rings were too stealthy, too heavily armed, for them to do anything.

The day after that decision, Tony’s lawyers showed up at Pepper’s apartment and told her that Tony had left almost everything to her. It took all she had to not break down crying at the door. People were just  _ assuming _ that he was dead, but no one had even found a body. Even if he had been blown up, he couldn’t have been thrown far from the convoy. 

Rhodey came back to the states for a forced four day shore leave two weeks after. He found Pepper sitting in Tony’s-well, he supposed it was technically hers now- living room, tapping at a computer. “Anything more on the satellites, J?”

“Nothing, Miss Potts. Good day, Colonel Rhodes.”

Pepper looked up from whatever she was doing. “Hi, Rhodey.”

Rhodey walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. It was largely unchanged from the last time he had been here, the couch spotless, pillows strewn about, the glass table spotted with fingerprints and oil stains. “What are you doing, Pepper?”

“Doing some paperwork for SI.”

“Aaaand?”

Pepper sighed and stopped typing. “And I can’t just give up on Tony. He’s  _ Tony. _ I refuse to believe that, wherever he is, he won’t find a way out. I have to find him.”

Rhodey sighed. “I’m not giving up on him either, Pepper, but there’s only so much I can do. I can’t go against orders. I believe that, sooner or later, he’ll find a way to give us a signal.”

“Miss Potts, you have not eaten in twelve hours. May I suggest a grilled cheese?”

Rhodey watched as Pepper blinked and looked at the clock. She sighed and closed the computer. “Here, I’ll make you one,” he said, standing up, “You seem exhausted.”

“Thanks, Rhodey,” she answered, leaning back into the couch and rubbing her eyes.

“JARVIS, you’ve said more words in the few minutes I’ve been here than any other point I’ve talked to you since Tony went missing.”

“I do not think Sir would appreciate Miss Potts working herself to death before he gets back.”

Rhodey smiled a sad smile. Despite the mournful tone the AI had adopted since Tony had gone missing, there was still a detectable spark of hope in the AI. He reminded himself to commend Tony on the AI once again when he got back. The amount of personality and feeling he had injected in the AI was amazing. Sometimes, the AI even felt human to him.

* * *

 

Not even a week later, JARVIS woke her up from where she had fallen asleep on Tony’s couch. “Miss Potts, Colonel Rhodes is calling with a video call.”

Pepper blinked blearily at the wall. “Put it through.”

One wall blinked to life. Rhodey was holding his phone, beaming into the camera. It was the happiest he had been since Tony had disappeared. “Pepper! Guess what!”

She blinked at him and shook her head, clearing the cobwebs from her mind. “It’s oh-one-thirty. Why the hell am I up.”

Rhodey panned his camera over to the other side of the room he was in. Lying curled up on the bed was a familiar form. He was pale and gaunt, covered in contusions and blood. His left arm was in a sling across a newly scarred chest. But even though the camera and the thousands of miles, Pepper could see the slow rise and fall of his chest. She sucked in a breath and brought her hands to her mouth as tears gathered in her eyes at Rhodey’s next words:

“We found him.”

* * *

_ “Few tears for your long lost boss?” _

_ “Tears of joy. I hate job hunting.” _

**Author's Note:**

> ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I tried okay. I don't like this as much as I do the other ones I have written, but I needed something for today and I liked this idea. Maybe I'll try it again sometime?


End file.
